MAYHAW FESTIVAL

I was extremely pleased with the success of our Marion Mayhaw Pageant which was on April 27, 2019.  We had 49 contestants, great attendance, and it was obvious that everyone had a great time!  Ashley Owen was our Mayhaw Pageant director and she is a great organizer, promoter, and director! Also, we had great support from Ashley's family, town employees, local fire department, garden club, and our residents.  I understand the last Mayhaw Pageant was some seven years ago.  So, I couldn't be more pleased that we brought the pageant back and enjoyed such great success with it this year!

We enjoyed hearing some great singing and music on Friday night at the Marion School Gym which is owned by the First Baptist Church of Marion.  Beginning at 6 p.m., Diane Wayne sang and played several songs which included patriotic and gospel selections.  She is such a talented musician! Afterwards, Robin Cox, Danny Allen, Buddy Maroney, and Bryan Allen played from 6:15 pm until 10 pm and they were fantastic too!  We had a great attendance Friday and had a great time enjoying the band!

Saturday morning, May 11, 2019, at 9:00 AM, Monte Russell from Ruston started to playing and singing.  Monte is an accomplished singer, musician, and song writer.  We were thrilled that Monte agreed to come back home and perform for us.  He sounded great!  The "Mayhaw Pickers Band" played again on Saturday afternoon from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm.  Charlene Cox sang several pieces with the band and she sounded super singing solo and singing duet with Robin! Robin, Buddy, Bryan, and Danny are all excellent musicians.  Robin is an amazing lead singer and the others sing really well also!

We had a huge parade on Saturday morning, beginning at 11:00 am. Peyton McKinnie was our parade director and he always does a tremendous job! He was assisted by the Marion Police Department, Marion Fire Department, and Sadie/Tiger Bend Fire Department.  Bobby Jo Douglas, a former Marion High School graduate and basketball sensation served as our first Mayhaw Festival Grand Marshall.  After the parade was finished, Rev. Bobby Joe Douglas also delivered an "Inspirational Talk" and it was encouraging and powerful.  Bobby Joe assisted me with presenting the 2019 Town of Marion Citizen of the Year Award to Mr. Johnny B. Gilliam.  Also, Johnny B. and Mr. Ralph Holley were recognized and honored for being long time council members, veterans, church leaders, and exceptional citizens and residents.  We are proud and appreciative of both of these strong, dedicated Christian men!

All of the proceeds from the Mayhaw Festival are to financially support our Marion Volunteer Fire Department.  Jimmy Caldwell is our new Marion Fire Chief.  We are all proud of him and each one of our firefighters!

I am very pleased with our festival results, especially when you factor in the rainy weather conditions.  We plan to build on this year's success and make next year's festival bigger and better than before!

Danny A. Smith

Mayor-Town of Marion